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SEC v. Ripple Decision Makes Waves in Digital Assets Enforcement

On August 7, 2024, nearly four years after the SEC filed its complaint alleging Ripple sold XRP in unregistered securities transactions in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act, the district court issued its final...more

SEC v. SolarWinds: Court Dismisses the Majority of the SEC’s Securities Fraud Claims

On July 18, Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York issued a lengthy order dismissing the majority of the SEC’s enforcement case against SolarWinds Corporation (SolarWinds) and its CISO, Timothy Brown. The...more

SEC v. Binance: Court Decides Majority of Claims Can Proceed but Expresses Skepticism of SEC’s Application of Law to the...

Of particular importance for the crypto industry, the opinion analyzes the SEC’s allegations that Binance and BAM offered and sold various tokens and programs to investors as investment contracts without registering them with...more

SEC v. Ripple Labs: Securities Law Analysis Under Howey Applied On A Transaction-By-Transaction Basis

It’s the Transaction, Not the Token. Issuers cannot offer or sell securities without registering them with the SEC under Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 or finding a valid exemption from registration. XRP is the...more

Guidance for the Virtual Currency Industry; 2021 Sanctions Review Shows Increasing Focus on Digital Transactions

On October 15, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued tailored sanctions compliance guidance for those operating in the virtual currency industry, including technology...more

Say What You Do…Do What You Say…Only See What…

Case Overview - This week’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement cease-and-desist order (Order) In re App Annie Inc., out of the SEC’s San Francisco Regional Office, underscores the importance of taking...more

Delaware Chancery Court Rules That Fiduciary’s Use of Email Account Provided by Separate Employer Destroys Privilege

On December 22, 2020, in litigation between WeWork and the Softbank Group, the Delaware Court of Chancery determined that the Softbank Group must hand over several dozen otherwise privileged emails because two SoftBank...more

DOJ Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework Highlights Risk for Those Engaged in Virtual Asset and Cryptocurrency Activity

In case it was not already clear, the U.S. Department of Justice recently confirmed that ensuring the use of cryptocurrency “is safe, and does not imperil our public safety or our national security, is vitally important to...more

SEC Amends its Whistleblower Program Rules

In a three-to-two vote, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a final rule amending its whistleblower program, which pays monetary awards to individuals who voluntarily provide information to the SEC about a...more

SEC Commissioner Dissents in Crypto Enforcement Action

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on September 15, 2020, that it charged online esports gaming and gambling platform Unikrn with violations of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) for...more

“Business as Usual” as Securities Enforcement Leaders Gather Virtually for Securities Enforcement Forum West 2020

Like most of the rest of the world, the speakers and attendees at Securities Enforcement Forum West 2020 last week had to adapt this year by trading in their microphones on the stage of a grand ballroom for an array of home...more

The SBA's April 23 Guidance on PPP Loans Increases Risk for Applicants, Provides Brief Window of Amnesty for Return of Funds

Against the backdrop of a steady flood of negative news articles suggesting that “larger” or venture-backed companies are taking funds meant only for very small businesses, on April 21, 2020, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven...more

Coronavirus Update: Employer Response, Contract Performance, and Public Company Disclosure Guidance

Impacts of Coronavirus on Commercial Agreements and Public Company Disclosures - COVID-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has now spread to at least 70 countries, including the United States. Our thoughts are...more

A Senior Executive Is Seriously Ill. When Should a Company Disclose the News?

The death of Oracle CEO Mark Hurd in October has highlighted a longstanding public company dilemma: whether and when to disclose the news that a senior leader has a serious health challenge. Not only is the topic sensitive...more

SEC Fines Life Sciences Company for Regulation FD Violations

For the first time in six years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued an enforcement action against a company solely for Regulation FD violations. On Aug. 20, the SEC announced that it charged life sciences...more

Not So Fast: Court Rules Against SEC, Finding It Did Not Prove Blockvest Sold Tokens as Securities

Digital token issuers caught up in the onslaught of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations finally received some encouraging news regarding their token sales’ exposure to federal securities laws. On Tuesday,...more

SEC Imposes $1.75 Million Penalty Against Issuer for Using Wrong Standard for Disclosing Executive Perquisites

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced on July 2, 2018, that The Dow Chemical Company had agreed to a cease and desist order and to pay a $1.75 million penalty for failing to disclose certain expenses as...more

SEC Enforcement Trends: Highlights from Securities Enforcement Forum West 2018

The Securities Enforcement Forum West 2018 brought together current and former senior U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Justice officials, securities enforcement and white-collar attorneys,...more

SEC Fines Private Company in First Enforcement Action Resulting from Rule 701 Option Grants Investigation

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought an action against San Francisco-based Credit Karma on March 12 for issuing employee stock options without a valid registration exemption because the issuer failed to satisfy...more

The SEC and Plaintiffs’ Class Action Attorneys Are Targeting Initial Coin Offerings

Issuers and other professionals participating in Initial Coin Offerings — widely known as ICOs — are facing the increasing threat of both U.S. Securities Exchange Commission enforcement actions and private class action suits...more

SEC Sees Fewer Filed Cases in 2017, But Signals Aggressive Enforcement Ahead in Financial Reporting, Cybersecurity and Other Key...

After a record-breaking fiscal year 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division had a somewhat quieter year, at least in terms of the number of actions filed. The Enforcement Division released its...more

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